


Forget Her Not

by storyhaus



Category: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-01
Updated: 2018-05-01
Packaged: 2019-04-30 20:08:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14504541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/storyhaus/pseuds/storyhaus
Summary: Nick decides to take a sabbatical but he makes an important stop first.





	Forget Her Not

Forget Her Not

Sara looked at her phone when she got a text message.  
"Okay." She said and headed to the parking garage.  
She was surprised to find Greg there.  
"Hey, what are you doing out here?" She asked.  
"Nick." He held up his phone.  
"Me too." She frowned.  
Nick pulled up to them and got out of his truck.  
"What's up?" Greg asked.  
"I'm taking a leave of absence, effective immediately." He told them.  
Sara looked down.  
"Why?" Greg asked.  
"How long have you been a CSI Greg?" Nick countered.  
"Almost eight years."  
"I've been in the field twice as long. You've had a front seat for most of it. I need a break. I'm telling you guys myself because we're family."   
"How long?" Sara looked at him.  
"Open ended. I got a lot to figure out Sar, but I'm on the other end of the phone if you need me." He promised.  
"We're going to miss you."  
"I'm gonna miss you too G." Nick hugged him. "Take care of her for me." He whispered in Greg's ear.  
"I will." Greg promised.  
He released Greg and hugged Sara.  
"Take care of him." He told her.  
Sara nodded holding him for an extra moment.  
"Look after each other okay?" He requested when he'd released her.  
The pair nodded.  
"I'll call." He promised as he got back into his truck. "Okay Sam, we've got a long drive ahead of us."  
"Hey, be careful!" Sara called.  
"I will." Nick smiled and waved then drove away, "Sam, we've got detour to make first."

 

Gil Grissom walked into his full classroom at UCLA and put his books on the desk then turned to the students.  
"So, what never lies?" He asked.  
"Um," a coeds hand went up, "a priest?"  
"That's a who and sometimes they do lie. Anyone else? Yes, you in the back?" He said seeing the hand but not who it belonged to.  
"The evidence never lies."  
Grissom paused at the southern drawl then started up the steps.  
"How do you know that?" He asked getting closer.  
"It was drilled into my head for twelve years." Nick smiled at his former boss.  
"Why are you here?" Grissom asked.  
"You left some unfinished business back in Vegas."   
"This isn't the time or place." Grissom frowned at him.  
"You're right Doctor Grissom, you have a class." Nick stood.  
"You guys know each other?" The tall basketball player Nick intentionally sat behind turned and asked them.  
"Nick is a level 3 CSI." Grissom answered.  
"What was your most gruesome case?" A student wearing a Bruins sweatshirt asked.  
Grissom gave Nick a small smile and motioned to him.  
"Sam,venez." He ordered and they followed Grissom down the steps to the front of the class.  
"You have a dog." A boy stated the obvious.  
"Sam is a retired K-9 officer. His partner was murdered, Sam helped bring the killer to justice and was shot doing so. His partner had planned to adopt him but when he was killed there was no one else to take him and we had bonded over...our losses." Nick looked at Grissom who understood he was talking about Warrick. "So I adopted him."  
"Your most gruesome case?" The student reminded.  
"Well, let's see, there have been skeletons in chimneys, liquified bodies in cars, bloated bodies in tubs, heads without bodies and bodies without heads." Nick shrugged and looked at the students, some of who looked squeamish. "This is the reality of being a criminalist." He added.  
"Why do you do it?" A coed asked  
"To quote my former supervisor here, 'the dead can't speak for themselves.' All the CSI's I work with and have worked with, we all strive to find justice for the victims and their families."   
"Have you ever been injured?" The basketball player asked.  
"Gunshot wound right here." Nick pointed to his left shoulder.  
"How'd it happen?" A coed in the front row asked.  
"We'd been following up on leads on a serial killer dubbed Doctor Jekyll. We managed to make a connection between all the victims with a man who managed a restaurant, we went to talk to him and he started having pains, his son offered to get some water and when he didn't come back after a long while I sent an officer to check on him." Nick halted and Grissom squeezed his shoulder and Nick took a deep breath, "his son was Doctor Jekyll and he killed the officer and shot me. He resented his father for not giving him the money to attend medical school since he wanted to be a doctor. I was able to get my gun while Ray distracted him with a bs story about his own father and when I was ready Ray told the man he was going to get help for his father but since the son wanted his father to die he couldn't allow Ray to do that and came out with his shotgun and I shot him."  
"Did the officer die?" A man in the second row asked quietly.  
"Yes. I have to live with sending him to check on the son." Nick sighed and pet Sam.  
"What was the funniest case you ever had?" A coed in the back asked and lightened the mood a few moments later.  
"A plushies convention murder." Grissom answered.  
"What's a plushy?" A young man to their left asked.  
"People who dress up like animals." Grissom answered.  
"Weird." The boy replied.  
"No, just Las Vegas." Nick laughed.  
"What was the weirdest case?" A coed to their right asked.  
"Oh man, that had to be the CEO who had a secret nursery and wore diapers." Nick replied shaking his head.  
"Is being shot the worst thing that ever happened to you?" Another man, a bit older asked.  
"I was kidnapped and buried alive." Nick answered looking down and petting Sam.  
Several students gasped.  
"My team rescued me in time, that's what I hold onto." Nick looked at Grissom.  
"My worst was when one of my guys were in trouble." He laid a hand on Nick's shoulder.  
"How long did you work together?" A coed in the third row asked.  
"Twelve years. Listen to this man, you'll learn a hell of a lot." Nick told the class.  
"What's the most difficult case you've ever worked?" A man in the back called out.  
"Anything involving a dead child." Nick answered and Grissom nodded.  
"Did you two ever disagree?" Another man asked.  
"All the time." Grissom admitted.  
"Usually we'd re-examine the evidence and figure it out." Nick added, "Grissom taught me a lot over the years."  
"I told you you were my best student. I also learned from you. You were right when you said we couldn't ignore the human element." Grissom replied and looked at the clock. "Okay, study the next chapter, we'll discuss it tomorrow."  
As the class filed out they thanked Nick and a few stopped to quiz him a bit more.  
Finally it was just Nick, Sam and Grissom.  
"It's good to see you Nicky." Grissom smiled fondly at him.  
"You too but we need to talk about Sara."   
"Nick--"  
"It's none of my business right? Wrong. I consider both of you family. Do you still love her?"  
"Yes," Grissom sighed,"but it's not that simple."  
"It can be. My sister and brother-in-law have been married twenty-five years. He's been deployed probably half that time. They talk every day. Gris--"  
"Someone sent me photo's." Grissom blurted.  
"These." Nick held out his phone.  
Grissom looked at him.  
"I'm laying odds Ronald Basderic sent them." Nick deleted the photo's from his phone.  
"Who is he? The man in them?"  
"He was stalking Sara. Framed her for murdering the man in the photo. His end game was to kill Sara and call it self-defense." Nick informed him.  
"Is she alright?" Grissom asked, Nick was glad to hear the concern in his voice.  
"We nailed his ass." Nick nodded.  
"I want her to be happy." Grissom sighed.  
"I want you both to be happy. The past is the past Gris. Doesn't your marriage deserve a second chance? If it doesn't work out at least you know you tried. You to were lucky to find someone who understands the work, the hours and the dedication."  
"Why are you here NIck?" Grissom took a good look at him and realized he looked older.  
Nick told him about McKeen.  
"You okay?" Grissom asked.  
"Everybody always says it's over, but not for the person who lived it. The day it will be over is the day I take my final breath. I need some space from Vegas and everything that's happened to me." Nick admitted.  
"Is this permanent?"  
"Honestly? I don't know." Nick shrugged.  
"I'm sorry I didn't see it back then." Grissom apologized.  
"John Wayne." Nick half-smiled.  
"Meaning?"  
"Like the Duke, we Stokes men get back up, brush ourselves off and never let 'em see you hurting. Plain truth is I'm tired."  
Grissom could see that now and patted his shoulder.  
"I'll tell you what I told Sara, I'm just a phone call away." Nick offered his hand and Grissom shook it. "Think about what I said will ya?" He added and left with Sam  
Nick had said his peace, now it was up to his old mentor.

 

Sara walked into the house and turned off the alarm.  
It had been a long night and she was tired.  
Nick had been gone almost a month and she dearly missed him.  
Closing the door she turned and stopped shocked.  
"We need to talk."  
Sara nodded and put her purse on the table and sat down across from her estranged husband.  
And they talked.

the end 2014


End file.
